New 300-acre Suffolk nature reserve to open after £1 million fundraising success

Credit: ITV Anglia The nature reserve will open at Martlesham, Suffolk, after a £1 million fundraising target was hit.
The nature reserve will open at Martlesham, Suffolk, after a £1 million fundraising target was hit. Credit: ITV Anglia

A new 300-acre nature reserve will open after a community raised £1 million.

Suffolk Wildlife Trust launched a fundraising campaign last October to complete the land purchase for Martlesham Wilds on the banks of the River Deben, which it hopes will aid the county's wildlife recovery.

Over 2,300 individuals, community groups and local organisations took part in marathons, musical challenges and guided walks to hit the £1 million target, which will pay off the loan the trust borrowed for the purchase.

In opening the new nature reserve, which has been described as "substantial", the wildlife trust will aim to allow wilder habitats to return.

It is hoped species at the reserve will include birds such as curlew, avocet and redshank, as well as reptiles, mammals and invertebrates.

In the long-term it is also hoped nightingale will return to the area too.

Christine Luxton, chief executive at Suffolk Wildlife Trusts, said: “We are thrilled with how local Suffolk communities, businesses and volunteers have come together to help us create this stunning new nature reserve.

"By securing this small piece of the Deben landscape, the Trust makes a big step forward in helping nature in Suffolk to recover.”

Suffolk Wildlife Trust is aiming for nature to be "thriving and abundant" in the county and is looking to protect and restore 30% of Suffolk’s land and sea for nature recovery.

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